Bowling footwear



Jan. 5, 1 943. K. R. MOEN BOWLING FOOTWEAR Filed Deel 2, 1940 PatentedJan. 5, 1943 Kenneth R. Moen, St. IILaul,l Minn., assignorofone-third toGeorge R. Evans, St. Paul, Minn. Y

Application December 2, 1940, serial No. escasa" -(c1. afs-7.5)

2 Claims.

Much damage is done to public bowling alleys Where the players arepermitted to Wear ordinary shoes because many players wear shoes havingnails, metal plates or the like on the soles which gouge and roughen thefloors to such an extent that the smooth surface required for accurateplay is destroyed. The owners of alleys cannot prevent players fromsliding out onto the crowned portions of the alleys and it has also beenfound impractical to prevent the damage cause by improper footwear byrequiring players to wear eX- pensive bowling shoes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an inexpensive, lightweight and highly efcient substitute for expensive bowling shoes.

A particular object is to provide sandle-like footwear adapted to beworn over ordinary shoes and provided with flexible inner and outersoles, the inner soles being constructed from material adapted to adhereto and prevent slipping of the soles of the ordinary shoes within thesandals and the bottom or outer soles of my improved sandals beingconstructed from such materials as to allow ready sliding on the alleywith one foot, while the other has an adherent rubber or rubber-likesole adapted to minimize slipping.

A further object is to provide novel toe and heel bindings forsandal-like bowling footwear adapted to be worn over ordinary -shoes andwhereby the slipping of the shoes in the sandals under the severeshearing forces exerted in playing this particular game is prevented.

The invention will be bes-t understood by reference to the accompanyingdrawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of one of my improved sandals showingbindings of one suitable type;

Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating another and somewhat stronger formof heel binding, and

Figs. 3 and 4 are cross sections through the in- "Y step portions of thesandals respectively of a pair.

It will be understood that bowling shoes should be so constructed thatone foot of the wearer slides easily and the other foot should adhere tothe floor to afford control. To meet this requirement, I construct oneof the sandals of each pair with an outer sole 5 of suitable softleather, vsuch as elk hide, which will slide readily on the hardwoodfloors of bowling alleys (see Fig. 3). As shown in Fig. 4, the othersandal of a pair is provided with an outer sole 6 of soft, eXible rubberhaving a much higher coecient of friction on the Wood floors. Both solesextend the entire length of the foot, being provided with toe portions'I, heel portions 8 and intermediate instep portions. ,Registering withthe outer s'o1es 5 and 6 are inner soles 9 which may be lfastened to theouter soles either by adhesive or by sewing. These inner solesareconstructedfrom soft rubber or other gum material, either-natural orartificial, adapted vto'rinlil'yadhere v.to the soles of the ordinaryshoes worn bythe players.

Flexible -toe caps I II are fastened to the margins of the toe portions1 of the soles and extend a considerable distance along the .side edgesof the latter toward the instep portion thereof. The toe portions of thesoles and toe caps I0 are preferably formed to converge substantially toa point at the front so that shoes of various sizes, within certainlimits, may be firmly held by wedge action in the toe of the sandal.Heel bindings are provided to not only hold the heel of the sandal infirm contact with the heel of the shoe, but alsoto force the shoe of thewearer firmly into the toe cap of the sandal. As illustrated in Fig. 1,the heel binding comprises an elastic heel band II, forming a loop, withits ends I2 secured between the inner and outer soles at opposite sidesof the instep portion thereof, and extending obliquely upward and to therear for embracing the heel of the shoe of the wearer. At each side ofthe heel I provide an elastic band I3 which is fastened at one end tothe .band I I and at the other end to the heel portion of Ithe sole.

The heel binding illustrated in Fig. 2 comprises an elastic band I4formingA a'loop and having its ends I5 secured to the heel portion ofthe sole at opposite sides. This band norm-ally extends obliquelyforward and upward from the sole portion of the heel to embrace theinstep of the wearer and thereby resiliently retain the heel of thesandal in firm contact with the heel of the shoe of the wearer. Arelatively inelastic strap I6 is arranged to extend obliquely to therear and upwardly from the instepportion of the sole and is providedwith a buckle I'I to permit it to be fastened around the heel of thewearer. Ends I8 ofthe strap I6 are fastened at opposite sides of theinstep portion of the sole as in the case of the band Il.

My improved sandals are constructed throughout from light, flexiblematerial. They are furnished in three sizes, small, medium and large.

Due to the ready adjustability of the bindings and constructiondescribed, the great majority of bowlers may be properly tted from thesethree sizes. For a right handed bowler the sandal having the slidablesole 5 is shaped to be worn on the left foot, while the sandal havingthe relatively adherent sole is shaped for and worn on the right foot ofsuch a player. For a left handed bowler the sandal havi.ng the sole 5 isworn on the right foot while that with the sole 6 is worn on the leftfoot.

It is important that the sandals shall be held securely against movementrelative to the shoe of the wearer under the shearing forces incident tothe rather strenuous foot work required. By providing the inner soles 9of soit rubber or similarly adherent material in combination with thetoe caps IU and secure heel bindings, my improved sandals are adapted tomeet this requirement.

The bindings have the further advantage of perall players can afford towear them.l

They are much in demand by public bowling` alleys where, due to theirlow cost, they can be loaned to bowlers with resulting large savingsV inwear and tear on the alley floors.

Having described my invention, what I' claim as new and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

' 1. A bowling sandal comprising, exible inner.

and outer soles secured together in registry with each other, and havingtoe, instep and heel portions, a flexible toe cap adapted to engageshoes of various sizes, said capextending continuously along oppositeedges of the soles substantially to the instep portion thereof and aheel binding including a exible, elastic member having its ends securedto opposite sides of said instep portion of the sole and extendingobliquely to the rear and upward therefrom and short elastic membersconnecting opposite sides respectively of the heel portion to said firstmentioned member for adjustably embracing the heel of the wearer.

2. A bowling sandal adapted to be worn over a conventional shoecomprising: a sole having a forward portion the side edges of whichconverge toward each other, a substantially inelastic, ex-

ible cap for said portion of the sole adapted to receive the toe of ashoe, said cap extending continuously along and being fastened to theconverging edges of the sole substantially to the widest part of saidsole whereby forward sliding movement of a shoe relative to the cap andsole is prevented by wedging action and heel binding means secured tosaid sole and arranged to maintain the toe of the shoe in engagementwith said cap and to retain the inner surface of said sole in engagementwith the heel of said shoe.

4KENNETH R. MOEN. Y

